Avoiding major car repair bills can be avoided by performing preventative maintenance. A car maintenance schedule will help you keep up with what needs to be done when and help your car run efficiently.

Some basic maintenance tips in this section include the importance of routine oil changes, how to check and service your transmission, what a tune up accomplishes, and what a power flush means. The information you learn in these tips could save you money on repairs.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Maintenance' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Adding Water to Your Radiator
If you have never done it before adding fluids to engine of your vehicle, let alone water to your radiator, can be a fairly intimidating prospect. That being said, once you learn how to do it, you will find that adding water to your radiator is an extremely easy project.

   Changing an Air Filter
One of the easiest and most effective methods for increasing the fuel mileage on your vehicle is to change an air filter. Learn just how easy it is by following these simple instructions.

   Checking for Loose Drive Belts
The drive belt is perhaps one of the simplest and most important items that you can find in your engine. If you don't take proper care of it, and it breaks, your entire vehicle will stop working. The most basic way of taking care of your belt is to periodically check to make sure it has the proper tension. Luckily checking for loose drive belts isn't that difficult.

   Checking Your Oil
One of the necessities of vehicle maintenance is checking your oil. When you don't perform this task regularly, you are increasing the risk of major engine damage and you could blow an engine without realizing it. Here's how you can keep that from happening.

   Checking Your Transmission Fluid
Checking your transmission fluid is something that needs to be done periodically on every car or truck that has an automatic transmission. This is one of those tasks that easy to do and here is how you can do it yourself.

   Checking Your Washer Fluid
An often overlooked task in keeping your vehicle in good working condition is to periodically check the window washing fluid. In fact, checking your washer fluid is such an easy task, that many people will overlook doing it until it is too late.

   Determining When You Need an Alignment
There are all kinds of ways that the alignment on your car can go out of whack. But how do you know if it has? Determining when you need an alignment job isn't all that difficult, as long as you follow these guidelines.

   Fixing Squeaky Door
Not only can it be annoying to find yourself dealing with a squeaky car door, it can also be fairly embarrassing as well. Luckily fixing squeaky doors like this doesn't need to be all that difficult. In fact, it can actually be simple; all you need to do is use one of these simple methods to get the job done.

   Flushing Your Radiator
If your car, truck, van, or SUV happens to have a radiator, then at some point in time it will need to be flushed. While you can ways hire some one to do the work for you, flushing your radiator is a simple enough task that anyone can do it. Just make sure that you are following these directions to ensure that you are doing it the right way.

   How to Check Your Brake Fluid
Too many people go by without checking their brake fluid themselves, and leave it for their periodic tune up. Instead of hoping that everything is alright, why not learn how to check your brake fluid yourself? It's that difficult.

   How to Replace Shock Absorbers
Over time, even the best cared for car will require to have a few of its parts replaced. One example f this can be found in the shock absorbers. It is entirely possible to change these parts yourself, if you are willing to get a little dirty. Just follow these directions and you will learn how to replace shock absorbers with no problem.

   Replacing Your Engine Coolant
There is more to replacing your engine coolant than simply pouring a little of your preferred brand into the proper slot. Before you replace the coolant, you need to flush out the system. It's not particularly difficult, though you do want to show a little bit of care that you won't make a mess.

   Servicing Your Transmission
Servicing your transmission, otherwise known as changing the transmission filter, is a simple task, although it can be a little time consuming. Luckily this is something that anyone can do, as long as they know what they are looking for. Here's how.

   Setting a Spark Plug Gap
Setting a spark plug gap is a quick and simple task that anyone can perform. As long as the person has the time, proper tools, and knows what they are doing, your spark plugs will perform properly.

   Signs of a Bad Alternator
One of the most important, though overlooked, parts of a vehicle is the alternator. The reason for the importance is really quite simple, the alternator recharges the battery, and helps provide the electricity needed to run your vehicle. Learning to recognize the signs of a bad alternator can go a long way to helping prevent problems from cropping up.

   Tuning Up Your Car Yourself
Why pay someone else to tune up your car, when doing it yourself is a relatively easy, though time consuming, process. Save yourself some money and do it yourself this next weekend.

   What Is a Power Flush?
Sometimes when a person hears a term that they don't understand from their mechanic, like "power flush," they are too intimidated to ask what it means. If you have ever wondering what a power flush is, here is your answer.